I don’t know how many times I’ve had buyers regret for passing up a record then thinking about it for days and wishing I hadn’t left it behind. I had a situation at this Goodwill before but not quite in the terms I just described: I ended up buying just a jacket as the record was missing. Where was the vinyl? I looked through everything twice, it was nowhere to be found. Admittedly, I did not look inside every record but as I walked out I became increasingly convinced that is where it resided. I relegated myself to the thought that it would never be mine. I remedied this in a way that solved the problem but did not satisfy my collecting related OCD. Still, it was the best I could do.
I was lucky enough to be heading home from Warsaw Indiana and I decided to take Old 30 west most of the way even if it wasn’t the fastest thoroughfare. I remembered this shop was on 30 so I checked the map and made my plan.
I walked in…THE DAMN RECORD WAS STARING ME IN THE FACE. That’s right – the record I could not find before was not on the top shelf of the rack, not in a sleeve and up front. I couldn’t believe it (still can’t)! So I continued my dig to see what else I could find, and things got more interesting, quick.
I found two more Chicago polka releases – both had the wrong record inside. The interesting thing is that in both instances, the record inside was indeed still from the Chicago polka genre!
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| I already have the Marion Lush album – inside was a slightly more obscure Jay Jay release |
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| This one really got my excited – I was very eager to grab this compilation. But inside again, a Jay Jay record. This time, from Li’l Wally’s Polish language only alter ego. |
The four records plus mine make five Chicago Polka records ranging over nearly 20 years. My guess is that here just on the Illinois border and not far from area where many legit polka clubs existed for many years, a serious polka fan lived near Dyer. However, this person was a bit sloppy with their vinyl. But I’d like to think that they were having some serious listening sessions or maybe a party – all the vinyl got taken out and just jammed back inside something else. The interesting thing is that none of these records were out during my last visit in August. This is because every Goodwill has a load of vinyl in the back, so they can periodically rotate everything and just junk what didn’t sell. What might I find on my next visit? And when will that visit be? I do not know!
